BILL NUMBER: AB 1838	CHAPTERED  09/08/00

	CHAPTER   352
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE   SEPTEMBER 8, 2000
	APPROVED BY GOVERNOR   SEPTEMBER 7, 2000
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY   AUGUST 25, 2000
	PASSED THE SENATE   AUGUST 24, 2000
	AMENDED IN SENATE   AUGUST 7, 2000
	AMENDED IN SENATE   JULY 5, 2000
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   MARCH 28, 2000

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Leonard
   (Coauthors:  Assembly Members Bates, Bock, Campbell, Cardenas,
Cox, Cunneen, Dickerson, Dutra, House, and Longville)
   (Coauthors:  Senators Haynes and Johannessen)

                        FEBRUARY 3, 2000

   An act relating to the Political Reform Act of 1974, and declaring
the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1838, Leonard.  Political Reform Act of 1974:  financial
interest.
   (1) Existing law, the Political Reform Act of 1974, prohibits a
Member of the Legislature or other public official from making,
participating in making, or in any way attempting to use his or her
official position to influence specified governmental decisions in
which he or she knows or has reason to know he or she has a financial
interest.  A public official has a financial interest in a decision
if it is reasonably foreseeable that the decision will have a
material financial effect, distinguishable from the effect on the
public generally, on the official, a member of his or her immediate
family, or specified monetary, property, or business interests of the
official.
   This bill would express the intent of the Legislature that the
Fair Political Practices Commission, as part of its Conflict of
Interest Regulatory Improvement Project of 1999-2000, adopt
regulations that would accomplish specified goals relative to the
disqualification of public officials of local government agencies in
governmental decisions that do not directly and materially affect an
official's economic interest.
   (2) The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure,
provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act's
purposes with a 2/3 vote of each house and compliance with specified
procedural requirements.
   This bill, which would declare that it furthers the purposes of
the act, would therefore require a 2/3 vote.
   (3) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately
as an urgency measure.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  (a) The Legislature finds and declares that it is
necessary for the Fair Political Practices Commission to periodically
review and improve the regulations that implement the Political
Reform Act of 1974.
   (b) It is the intent of the Legislature that, in order to prevent
an unnecessary chilling of participation in the governmental and
regulatory process by public officials of local government agencies,
the Fair Political Practices Commission, as part of its Conflict of
Interest Regulatory Improvement Project of 1999-2000, shall adopt
regulations with respect to those officials that would accomplish all
of the following:
   (1) Minimize the instances of disqualification regarding
governmental decisions that do not directly and materially effect an
official's economic interest where it is reasonably foreseeable that
the economic impact of the decision will be distributed over a broad
segment of the official's jurisdiction.
   (2) Clarify that the fact that holding a professional license does
not of itself give rise to a disqualifying conflict of interest.
   (3) Clarify that one, or more than one, industry, trade or
profession is not necessarily prohibited from constituting a
significant segment of the public for purposes of analyzing whether
the public official of a local government agency is effected by a
decision in the same or similar manner as the "public generally."
  SEC. 2.  The Legislature finds and declares that the provisions of
this act further the purposes of the Political Reform Act of 1974
within the meaning of subdivision (a) of Section 81012 of the
Government Code.
  SEC. 3.  This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the
meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate
effect.  The facts constituting the necessity are:
   In order to further the purposes of the Political Reform Act of
1974 and to ensure that the broadest legitimate participation in the
governmental process is available to citizens of all backgrounds, it
is necessary that this act take effect immediately.
